Bound by the Past, Freed for the Future

In Colossians 1, the apostle Paul writes about the newness of life that is possible for each of us through Jesus Christ:
21 And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled
22 in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy, and blameless, and above reproach in His sight--
23 if indeed you continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and are not moved away from the hope of the gospel which you heard, which was preached to every creature under heaven, of which I, Paul, became a minister.

We cannot save ourselves - we need Someone who is greater than we are, Who can enter our hearts and provide cleansing and forgiveness.   We have all fallen short, we have missed the mark, and out of that separation from God, we can experience true reconciliation through the power of the cross. The cross is a bridge through which we can enter into a relationship with a loving and forgiving God, who loves us no matter what we may have done, who can forgive the sins of our past and give us hope and future in Him.

+++++

In 1st Corinthians 6, the apostle Paul wrote about the power of the transformed life and a new nature in Christ:
9 Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites,
10 nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God.
11 And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.

By now, you have probably heard about the shocking revelations regarding a member of a family who has been portrayed as a strong Christian family who has attempted to live according to God's ways.  It's troubling, it's heartbreaking, and there are so many elements to the complicated story that it's difficult to address them all.

But, my responsibility, I believe, is to present relevant information from a Christian worldview perspective, so after plenty of what I hope is careful thought, here is what I want to share...

This is from WORLD Magazine's website last Friday:

Josh Duggar, the oldest son of the Arkansas clan made famous on the reality television show 19 Kids and Counting, resigned his job at the Family Research Council yesterday after the tabloid In Touch Weekly publicized 12-year-old accusations of molestation against him.

In a statement released late Thursday, Duggar admitted to misconduct when he was 14 years old, calling his actions “inexcusable.”

“I hurt others, including my family and close friends,” he said in a post on his family’s official Facebook page. “I confessed this to my parents who took several steps to help me address the situation. We spoke with the authorities where I confessed my wrongdoing and my parents arranged for me and those affected by my actions to receive counseling.”

After the In Touch story appeared, this was posted on the Duggar Family's official Facebook page:

“Back 12 years ago our family went through one of the most difficult times of our lives...When Josh was a young teenager, he made some very bad mistakes and we were shocked. We had tried to teach him right from wrong. That dark and difficult time caused us to seek God like never before. Even though we would never choose to go through something so terrible, each one of our family members drew closer to God.”

Josh's wife, Anna, posted on Facebook that Josh told her and her parents about what happened several years before asking her to marry him.

WORLD summarized that the molestation incidents involved five minor girls who said Josh Duggar touched them inappropriately while they slept. The first incident happened in 2002. His parents found out when one of the victims told them what happened. They disciplined Josh and thought that was the end of it. But in 2003, it happened again.

There was a police report filed in 2006, due to Springdale police being alerted.  In that report, Jim Bob and Michelle indicated they had initially told investigators they sent Josh to a Christian training program that included counseling and hard labor. They later admitted they sent him to a friend in Little Rock, Ark., who acted as a mentor and was in the process of remodeling a building. Michelle Duggar told police her son did not speak to a certified counselor.   Jim Bob had brought the situation to the elders of their church and to an Arkansas state trooper who was later convicted on child
pornography charges.

The TLC cable channel, which aired 19 Kids and Counting, announced Friday that the show had been pulled from the schedule. The network said in a statement that it was troubled and saddened by what it called a "heartbreaking situation" and said its "thoughts and prayers" were with the family and the victims.

I have met and talked with Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar.  Through the years, I have admired their dedication to the Lord and to raising their children in a godly manner.   But the pursuit of godliness does not equate to perfection.  We as parents have to face the reality that no matter how hard we try to instill Christian principles in the hearts of their children, there will be times that they do not act consistent with that truth.  And, as much as God instills His truth in us, none of us will act correctly all of the time - we reject His principles and rebel against His standards.   Josh Duggar committed heinous, inexcusable acts of sexual deviancy.   But, as former Arkansas Governor and family friend Mike Huckabee is quoted as saying, "'inexcusable’ . . . doesn’t mean ‘unforgivable.’”

That quote was used by author and radio host Michael Brown in a piece that appeared on the Townhall.com website, which offered some lessons from the Duggar scandal.  One was that, "Jesus really does change people."  Brown used the Scripture from 1st Corinthians 6, verses 9-11 in his piece.  Another is, "There's no excuse for sin, so own up to it."  Josh Duggar did that - as Brown says:

According to the accounts we’ve all heard, Josh confessed his sin to his parents as well as to the proper authorities, and as a family, they worked through the issues. Now, half a lifetime later (he’s 27 and is married with four children), when confronted with a police report about his past, he did not minimize his sin nor did he excuse it. He also resigned from the fine Christian organization for whom he worked, not wanting to bring any negative attention to their work.

And, there has been quite a bit of discussion about the victims. Because the police report has been redacted, the identity of the victims has been kept a secret. Brown points out, "Josh can be an ambassador on behalf of the abused, even helping the abusers as well."   Billy Graham's grandson, Boz Tchividjian, according to a Christianity Today piece, posted on Facebook: "Praying for all children who have been sexually victimized and then tragically told that that [sic] Jesus demands them to forgive, forget, and move on. Those retraumatizing demands don’t come from Jesus.”  He heads an organization called GRACE, which stands for "Godly Response to Abuse in the Christian Environment."   Dr. Russell Moore of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention, was outspoken about instances of abuse in the church, expressing his concern that, 

...we see that this story is one more in what has been an endless cycle of stories of sexual abuse in “churched” contexts. We cannot assume that we can avoid this topic simply by making sure our doctrines are right, our values conservative, and our people sheltered from the world. If we are not addressing this issue, it is only because we are ignoring what is going on in our communities, and all too often in our pews. This requires that churches come with conviction to this question preemptively, before any specific situation arises, with a word from God.

Finally, we see that Josh Duggar has attempted to experience grace and forgiveness through Jesus Christ for his sins.  He has confessed his sins - to God, his family, and then-future wife and her family.  Even though the world has vociferously characterized Josh as a child molester, we can see that people do not understand the dynamics of new life in Jesus Christ and the power of repentance.   Yes, Josh, is continuing to face consequences of unspeakable sin, but He has also experienced newness of life in Christ.   As Michael Seewald, the father of Ben, who is married to Duggar sister Jessa, wrote in a blog post:

The answer is what Josh found and millions like him. He found forgiveness and cleansing from Jesus Christ. There are many of you that are reading these words right now having had thoughts and deeds no better than what Josh had and did. You are a sinner. You are a sinner by birth and choice. It is because of that corruption that is common to all that you have violated God’s holy commandments. If you continue in your present course Jesus Christ himself will judge you unworthy of eternal life. But he has graciously provided the only way of salvation and that is by trusting in him and his atoning death on the cross as the payment that God requires to absolve you of the guilt of your sins. Listen to the words of the apostle Paul about the forgiveness found in Christ. “In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;” Ephesians 1:7. Christ spilled his blood to redeem us from the bondage of sin and death. This was accomplished by his taking our sins upon himself and being punished in our place.

So pray for the Duggars, especially Josh and his wife, Anna.  And, pray for the victims.  We can trust that God will be glorified through the entire situation and that the power of Christ to heal and forgive may be experienced, not only by those involved, but by those who are watching.